The Rising Star
by FraGmenTd
Summary: PostAssault crossover with XGRA. The Starfox team gets a call from General Pepper for an unusual job. And you'll never guess who the rising star is... Please R&R, and be nice. It's my first crossover ever. Chapter 4 is finally ready! Whew!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own XGRA. It belongs to Acclaim. And I don't own Starfox, either, even though you haven't seen them yet.**

**The Rising Star**

**By FraGmenTd**

**Prologue**

The Extreme G Racing Association. Founded in the year 2280, it was a sport to end all other forms of racing. Starting on Earth with the construction of 10 tracks scattered throughout the Terran system, the racing league expanded over the next 700 some years to every major system in the galaxy. The race was unique, standing on it's own as the most challenging race type for pilots. Other races had surpassed it in popularity in the past. F-Zero was on the top of the list for a long time. But viewers wanted more excitement, and when the F-Zero committee repeatedly refused to allow weapons into the races, its popularity wavered, it's fans dwindled, and the racing league became a minor one.

Then, in 2150, the F-2600, and later the F-5000 Anti-gravity Racing League came into play. This racing league still featured hovering racing machines, but this time weapons were allowed. But the tracks were uninspired, and lacked excitement, which was only made up for by the increasing grudges the pilots held against each other. This was one race, however, where sponsored teams were allowed to form. This allowed corporations to get in on the action. But sadly, not many chose to participate, and the league silently faded from existence as a major attraction.

The XGRA, as it was later called, was unique in its own right because the racing machines were not hovercraft. Rather, they were motorcycles, powered by compact plasma-ion engines. The fact that the vehicles touched the ground made them more difficult to pilot. The tracks were twisted and contorted in extreme angles. The machines, in the upper speed classes, were able to reach speeds in excess of 900 miles an hour, which was slower overall compared to the racing leagues of the past. But since the only thing separating the rider from the track was an energy barrier, the riders had the illusion of moving much faster. On top of all this, the hyperbikes, as they came to be called, were equipped with the latest in weapons and shield technologies. Following in the footsteps of the F-2600 and F-5000 Anti-gravity Racing League, teams were able to form with corporate sponsors across the Terran system, and soon the galaxy. The XGRA drew in fans in vast numbers, and the numbers of teams, sponsors, and riders grew exponentially. The Galactic Championship was the highest honor in the XGRA, and there were those who even died trying to get there.

Today, in the year 3004, the XGRA remains the most prominent racing organization in the galaxy, and the skill needed to even qualify in a regular season and be hired by a team was more than many had. The invitational, a race with no weapons, and slow, average handling hyperbikes, are given to each participant, effectively leveling the playing field. The idea is to just race, and pilot your vehicle to the best of your ability.

On top of all the publicity winning an XGRA race would earn a rider, the money one earned was also something to be happy about. Not only for a rider as an individual, but for their team, and their sponsoring companies. That led companies to add their own twist to the race. Developing new, more devastating weapons, faster machines, and more sophisticated systems. This private R&D allowed corporations to compete on another level, and it fueled the fans' need for change, and upgraded technology in many fields. This was the nature of XGRA.

It was not long before the racing association caught the attention of a certain star system near the center of the galaxy...

**A/N: For those of you who have actually played XGRA, I made quite a few modifications. You will notice the year almost immediately. I changed it, because I don't believe the stuff in Starfox happens in 2080. I don't know when, specifically, Starfox takes place, but I chose 3004, because I have written stories in the past with Starfox universe included, and that was the year/era I chose then. So I'm sticking with that. And don't worry, you'll see Starfox soon! In fact, the next chapter will be ALL Starfox. So no one read this and go "hey! I thought this was a Starfox story! Where's Starfox? You suck!" Personally, I love Starfox. I just thought XGRA was a pretty damn good game, and it didn't get enough recognition. Hence the crossover. **


	2. Chapter 1 An unorthodox proposal

**Chapter 1 – An unorthodox proposa**l 

The incredibly loud rock music blared from within the bathroom. Inside, steam billowed everywhere. You couldn't have seen your own hand in front of you if you tried. The music could have been rocking the ship, but the soundproofing in the room more or less prevented that.

Fox McCloud was in the shower, getting into the music more than he would have displayed in public. But he wasn't in public, now, was he?

"Ahh!" he sighed. "Hot shower, loud music, what could be better?"

Suddenly the door whooshed open. Fox wouldn't have noticed it at all, except that the steam suddenly rushed out of the room. Fox rolled his eyes, knowing who was coming in.

"Is there enough room for me in there?" Krystal yelled over the noise.

Fox reached for a panel above his head, which he could barely see through the steam still in the room, and turned the music down considerably.

Suddenly the shower door slid open, and Krystal's naked form appeared before him. She placed her paws on her hips in annoyance. "Did you even hear me?"

Fox turned and smiled, taking her in for a moment before speaking. "Yeah, I heard you. Of course there's room in here for you." He moved over, and gestured her to come in beside him. "But you might have to leave some of your prettiness outside, because it might not fit in here."

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Are you trying to be funny, or cute? I'm not coming in there to play, I'm coming in to get clean!"

Fox wrinkled his nose. "Get clean? Why would you want to do _that?_" He grabbed Krystal around her waist and pulled her in, while she giggled at the sudden move. He pulled her close to him, and her body was soon drenched with the water pouring over her. She licked his muzzle, and soon they were kissing passionately.

When they pulled away, Krystal spoke again, giggling lightly. "So when are you going to give me kits, love? We've been together for 2 years. Don't you think we should settle down?"

Fox smiled at her. "When are you going to let me marry you?"

"We already are. Kind of..."

Fox glanced at the necklace around his neck. Since Krystal had given it to him, he'd never taken it off. "Yeah, but not officially. Besides, you need a last name! Why not have mine? I think Krystal McCloud has a nice ring to it!"

She giggled. "Yes, I suppose it does. But would it... mess things up with the team? I've been a full-fledged member for a while. Do you think it would disrupt anything?"

Fox shook his head. "No. You've proven your skills. God, this whole Aparoid thing was the biggest conflict since the War, and you jumped right into active flight duty with only a little training. And you did really well. This team needs you." He hugged her close, kissing her on the forehead. "And I need you, too. I won't let the team stand in the way of us, and I won't let us stand in the way of the team. And if we have kits..."

"We'll bring them along?" Krystal looked deeply into his eyes. "Think about it, Fox. If we'd had kits to deal with during the Aparoid conflict, one of us would have been out of the loop. I couldn't bring myself to take them with us. Not in that kind of situation. But I love you, and want to be with you. I don't want to take you away from the team. But I also want children. I'm at that age, and you've almost missed your chance!"

Fox glared at her. "I have not! You make it sound like I'm as old as Peppy, for god's sake!"

Krystal laughed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like that. But the work we do... it's too dangerous for children."

Fox looked at her, tenderly stroking her cheek, and she nuzzled his paw in response. "I didn't really know you wanted to have kits so bad. I mean, I like the idea, but... I see your point." He kissed her again. "Oh, they'd be fine. After this last thing, we're not going to have another big job for awhile. If you want to have children..." He shrugged. "At least you're coming to me with it, instead of, you know, not telling me it was important to you."

She beamed at him. "So you'll do it?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I'll do it."

She almost tackled him joyfully, licking his face over and over. "Oh, thanks, Fox!" She held him close. "I love you so much." She buried her muzzle in his chest fur. "We'll wait for a little while, though. Just in case, you know, something comes up."

Fox nodded, then sighed. "Great. So no messing around for a while."

She cocked her head to the side. "Um, Fox? Did you forget I have an implant?"

Fox thought for a second. Then he remembered. "Oh! Right! The birth control thing. Right. Jeez, I forgot about that!"

She shook her head. "Well, silly! How else would I have prevented being pregnant all this time?" She sighed. "I don't know about you sometimes..." She smiled at him, and nuzzled his face. "But I love you anyway."

"So does that mean we can-"

Krystal clapped her paw over his muzzle. "Yes it does."

Fox lifted her by her thighs and pushed her against the wall. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, and the two began kissing intensely.

"Dagnabbit, Falco!" Peppy yelled, slapping his forehead.

The kitchen was full of dark smoke, and Peppy was rushing in to see what had gone wrong. Falco was not the cooking type, but he'd insisted on cooking lunch because he was tired of Peppy calling him a slacker. Peppy had finally decided to give Falco something simple, but it seemed that even this was too complicated.

"What?" Falco complained, holding the griddle in front of Peppy, who gagged and tried to wave the smell of charred food out of his face. "So it's a little burned. It's not like it can't still be eaten!"

Peppy glared at him. "Would _you _eat that?" He pointed angrily at the griddle. "They're called _grilled_ cheese sandwiches, not _charred_ cheese sandwiches! Your attention span is as small as your ego is big! Face it, Falco. _You can't cook!_"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do so you don't keep getting on my back about slacking off?" Falco retorted.

"I don't know, but at this point I'd rather have you continue to be a slacker than cook my food! Now go on, I'll see if I can't clean up in here."

Falco threw off the apron he was wearing. "Fine!" He started out, then stopped and half turned around. "By the way, when will you have lunch ready?"

Peppy growled at him. "Out, Falco!"

Falco shrugged. "Okay, later." He calmly walked out of the kitchen. He passed by Slippy, who was tinkering with something at the table. As Falco passed him, Slippy coughed as he caught a whiff of Falco's attempt at lunch."

"Jeez, Falco! What'd you use, the plasma stream from your Arwing's engine?"

"Oh, shut it, Slippy! I knew I couldn't cook that stuff! I told Peppy that, and he made me anyway. Now we'll never get any food!"

Slippy tilted his head to a unit on the wall resembling a refrigerator. "There's a replicator over there."

Falco snorted. "Yeah, and it replicates crap! The stuff that comes out of that thing doesn't even _look_ like the food it's supposed to be, let alone taste like it."

Slippy shrugged. "The newer models are better. They make tasty food."

"Yeah, and how much do they cost?"

Slippy smirked, looking over his toy more closely. "A lot more than we have."

"Yeah, that's my point," Falco said grimly, plopping into a recliner across the room. Suddenly his temper flared up again. "Damn that Pepper! How are we supposed to live the crappy pay he gives us? He hasn't called with a job in months!"

Slippy dropped the equipment he was holding and glared at Falco, his eyes narrowing. "He's recovering from the Aparoid infection, Falco! Or did you forget that's how close we came to all being wiped out by those damn bugs?"

Falco hadn't seen Slippy react like that before. "Jeez, sorry. I didn't know he was still recovering, that was some time ago. Peppy got infected, and he's been okay for a while."

Slippy was still glaring. "Pepper had them all over his body! Jeez, don't you pay attention? He almost died! Do you not get that?"

Falco sighed, not wanting to continue the argument. "Okay, Slippy, okay. Sorry I even said it."

Slippy went back to tinkering, muttering something Falco couldn't hear, but that closely resembled "asshole". A moment later, Slippy's anger lifted. "There! Done." He held up the device he'd been tinkering with. It was a portable comm unit.

As if on cue, Fox and Krystal walked into the room. Slippy looked up the vulpine he'd wanted to see.

"Hey Fox!" He held up the comm unit. "Finished it." Fox held out his paw, indicating Slippy to throw it to him. Slippy tossed it, and Fox caught it easily in one paw.

Fox activated the unit, and instantly smiled in approval. "Remote control of all vehicles in our control, holomap displaying all other units within a ten mile radius, passive and active mechanical and life scanning, a built in cloaking device, personal shield generator..." he turned off the device. "And a computer overriding interface. You've really outdone yourself this time, Slip. Excellent job."

Slippy took a brief bow. "I figured it would shine the best on ground missions where we have to split up. I have a second unit. If we do have a mission soon where were on the ground, we can test it there. If it works out, I'll built more." He chuckled. "I bet if we showed this to the guys at CSF R&D, or even SpaceDynamics, they'd crap themselves!"

Fox laughed. "Yeah, they probably would. The space force can't spare the money for major R they don't have the funding. SpaceDynamics might, but they don't have any creative engineers over there anymore. They outdid themselves with the first Arwing, and the later upgrades to it, but there's no way they can do that again."

Slippy nodded, then laughed. "Maybe I should ask them for a job!"

Fox shook his head and chuckled. "No way, Slip. This team is nothing without your technical expertise."

Slippy nodded. "I know. I was just joking, Fox. This team is my life."

Fox smiled. "Good. Nice to know you're still with us." He plopped himself down in a chair. "You know, I just realized I haven't had breakfast yet, and it's already lunchtime!"

Krystal gave him a sideways glance and grinned slyly. _You already _had_ breakfast, love!_ she said to him telepathically.

_Oh, right. I did, didn't I? _he thought back to her. _A beautiful blue vixen, if I remember correctly._

_Mmm-hmm. _was her response.

Suddenly a holographic representation of the ship's robotic caretaker, ROB, appeared in the middle of the room.

He turned to Fox. "Fox, message from General Pepper."

Fox beamed. "Send it down here, ROB."

Falco jumped out of his chair. "Well what do you know? The old dog has something for us after all!"

"Alright!" Slippy cheered.

"Hey Peppy! Come in here, Pepper's got something for us!" Fox called in the general direction of the kitchen.

Peppy came strolling out, wiping his paws on a rag, just in time to see the General's face come up on the holo-projector in the middle of the room.

Pepper cut right to the chase. "Greetings, Starfox team! I have some good news for you!"

"Great! What's the head's up?" Falco said impatiently.

The General smirked at Falco. "I'm alive and well!"

The whole team smiled. Except Falco. "Um. I think we knew that already. You wouldn't be calling us if you weren't!"

Pepper chuckled. He looked over the rest of the team. "I have an... unusual mission for your team, Fox. Rather unorthodox, to be sure. The only thing it involves saving is the financial instabilities both the Cornerian Defense Force and our biggest contractor, SpaceDynamics, have run into in recent days."

Fox nodded, musing to himself of the irony, having mentioned this very thing only a few minutes ago. But the other members of the team looked puzzled. Fox decided to address their concerns himself. "What have you got for us, General?"

Pepper assumed a more dignified pose. "We have recently become aware of a sporting event which has just in the last few years reached our region of the galaxy."

Everyone in the room thought the same thing at the same time. Sporting event?

Pepper decided to continue, preventing utter confusion. "The event is a racing league, called the XGRA. It originated on Earth some 700 years ago, and has, over that time, become very popular in that area. Many other systems in the United Planetary Alliance have participated in it as well, and since we were admitted to the UPA five years ago, word has leaked out to us that the XGRA's governing committee wants to build a series of racing tracks in our system. One to be set in Corneria City itself."

The team nodded, and Fox decided to say something. "How will this solve the military's financial problems, and what does it have to do with us?"

Pepper nodded. "I was getting to that. The race is so popular that it will draw many tourists from all over the galaxy to our system. This will help our economy greatly. Also, the league uses racing vehicles which we have little experience." An image flashed up on the screen. It was a two-wheeled machine, with a large glass canopy, and engine exhaust ports on the rear of the vehicle. The image spun slowly around, as technical specs flooded the display. Pepper continued to talk as this was happening. "The machines are called Hyperbikes. And from what I have heard, they're extremely difficult to pilot. That's where you and your team come in, Fox."

Fox grinned. "This sounds easy, General. We'll do this with no problem. These things can't be as hard as Arwings to pilot."

Pepper shook his head. "Ah, but there's a catch..." the image of the Hyperbike disappeared, and was replaced by a long winding ribbon. It twisted in on itself many times, and large loops were in a few places as well. "This is a layout for one of the tracks."

Slippy emitted a long low whistle.

Pepper smiled. "You will be cruising along this track at a speed of 600 miles an hour or more, with that glass canopy and a shield the only thing separating you from the track. On top of this, you will have no fewer than 12 other riders actively pursuing you."

Fox's eyes went wide.

"Oh, it gets better," Pepper chuckled. "Those other riders will be shooting at you with all kinds of nasty weapons."

Fox shook his head. "What kind of race is this? It sounds ridiculously chaotic. I like this idea!"

The General grinned. "I knew you would. The good part about all this, for us and for you, is that we get to modify our own Hyperbikes for each rider on your team. But in order for a team to be official, it needs a sponsor."

Fox smirked. "Let me guess. SpaceDynamics is more than happy to sponsor us."

Pepper nodded shortly. "You got it, son. As a result, they have been putting a lot into R&D on these things. Not just in weapons, but in everything. Right down to the bike's body design. You will find some... familiarities in the design. As well as the weapons. You won't be going out there unequipped. We picked you for one simple reason. Your team was the only group of people skilled enough to pilot the Arwings when we first used them, and we don't think we could find anyone better suited to the task of piloting yet another quirky vehicle. What do you think, Fox?"

Fox thought for only a moment; he'd already made up his mind. "Sounds like a great idea, General. We'll do it."

Pepper smiled broadly. "Very good. You can come in as soon as you're available for further briefing, and, if you'd like, a tour of what we've been up to. I know Slippy will be excited to see the guts of these machines."

Slippy tried to keep from jumping up and down, and just barely managed to contain himself.

"We're ready now, General. We're not doing anything."

"Excellent!" Pepper definitely seemed pleased. "Oh, and did it mention- winning even a minor race in the XGRA will earn a great deal of money, with most of it going to your team."

The team gave various cheers of approval. "That's great to hear, General." Fox beamed.

"There is a small fee to register a team, but that will be taken care of. I am looking forward to seeing you for the briefing, team. General Pepper out."

The team cheered once again. Fox then noticed that Peppy looked rather depressed. He approached his mentor. "What's up, Peppy?"

Peppy shook his head. "Aw, nothing, Fox. It's just, I'll be out of the loop for this. I can't pilot one of those things."

Fox smiled, patting Peppy in the back. "I'm sure we'll find something for you to do other than sit up here with ROB to keep you company."

Peppy smiled a bit. "Not like I wouldn't enjoy the peace and quiet, or anything like that."

Fox just rolled his eyes. The he tapped a panel on the wall. "ROB? This is Fox. Set a course for Corneria."

"Understood," grated ROB's metallic voice.

Krystal walked over to her unofficial mate. "Aren't you glad we didn't decide to get me pregnant this morning?" She grinned, and they hugged tightly for a moment.

Fox kissed her on the cheek. "Yeah. Although I was kind of looking forward to it."

She giggled. "You still can. It would be a few months before it would get in the way of anything."

Fox leaned in close to her, speaking softly so as not to be overheard. "I know what I'm doing tonight, then."

Krystal playfully pushed him. "Yeah, you do that!"

There was a brief lurch as the ship jumped into warp, and it sped silently toward Corneria.

**A/N: So what do you guys think now? I did want to address something as well, so as to clear up any confusion in those of you who read Hope for the Lonely. This is NOT a sequel to that story, despite some of the elements I decided to put in here from that story, most noticeably, that Fox has the necklace that Krystal gave him in Hope for the Lonely. Fox isn't a Cerinian in this story, but he is wearing the necklace. Also, the soundproofing in Fox's room. Both of those things I though should be carried over into this story. Also, I didn't go into a lot of detail about it in the story, but this is AFTER the Aparoid thing in Assault. So the timeline is a little later. I would say it's been about 6 months after Assault. So I hope that clears up any confusion there might be. **


	3. Chapter 2 Briefing

Chapter 2 – Briefing 

"Now entering Cornerian orbit," ROB announced as Great Fox dropped out of warp. The ship was much too big to enter the atmosphere, so the team would need to take their Arwings as transports.

"Okay, team. Report to the hangar," Fox ordered. The team exited the hangar with practiced efficiency. All except Peppy, who stayed at his post. "You too, Peppy. We need you."

Peppy glanced at him. "No you don't. I'm not racing."

Fox shook his head. "No one said you had to. I want you to be there for the briefing, though. You'll be able to figure out a way to help with this mission if you know what's going on."

Peppy didn't move for a second. Then he sighed. "Okay, Fox. But I'm getting too old for this stuff."

Fox just smiled. "I could order you to go. I am still in charge here!"

Peppy shook his head. "I can relieve you of that power if I think you're making a decision that would adversely affect the team."

Fox gave him a weird look. "Telling you to attend a mission briefing would adversely affect the team? You are still a member, aren't you? And if you are, it's mandatory for all team members to attend mission briefings. And if you're _not_ a member of this team, then what are you doing on my ship?"

Peppy chuckled. "Taking up space that would otherwise be collecting dust." Fox rolled his eyes at that. Peppy smiled. "I'm going, I'm going."

Fox patted his friend on the back, and they left the bridge.

"General!" a voice called behind him.

The General turned toward the source of the voice, his paws behind his back. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Great Fox has just entered orbit, and we are tracking five Arwings coming our way."

Pepper nodded. "Good. See that their path is cleared of traffic. I'll be down to greet them"

"Yes, sir."

Pepper left the room, and took the lift down to the lower level. He walked down a short corridor, and entered the CSF main hangar.

A moment later, five Arwings began decent onto the tarmac. Pepper glanced up, shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun with a massive paw. The small craft touched down, and each one's canopy almost immediately lifted open. Fox was the first to hop out, and he approached the General.

"Afternoon, General," he greeted. Suddenly he grimaced. "Damn, it's hot our here!"

Pepper smiled. "Yes, well it would be for someone who's been floating around in a climate controlled ship. It's only 80 degrees."

Fox whistled. "Yeah. Way too hot." The other members of the team came up to the pair, showing signs of the same discomfort. Even Slippy, who had no insulating fur whatsoever, was wiping sweat from his brow.

"Well, shall I show you what we've been working on?" Pepper raised his eyebrows in inquiry. The others gave various acknowledgements. "Okay, then. Come with me if you will." He performed a rather rigid about face, and led the team into the hangar. Personnel were abound, carrying a wide assortment of tools and parts.

Fox had not seen this many people in the hangar since the Arwing project. "Wow. They're really busting out for this thing."

Pepper nodded. "This has been our top priority since before the Aparoid invasion. When that happened, we put the project on hold, obviously. But as soon as we were able, we began working on it again. This project has yielded advances in many areas, not just transportation."

Slippy spoke up next. "Like what?"

"The Hyperbikes are much smaller than fightercraft, yet we are forced to squeeze the same amount of power into the smaller space," Pepper explained. "Miniaturizing the weapons was rather simple, and the shields didn't need that much improvement, either. Our most difficult task was the engine. The Hyperbikes we were sent by the XGRA committee were equipped with engines that were much more efficient than our own designs, and they were very surprised to hear that our technology wasn't up to snuff. These engines produce incredibly high output for their size and weight." He walked over to a table with a 6-foot long metal tube. It was something every member of the team knew. "This, as you know, is the bulk of the Arwings' engine. You can't lift it, and I would rather you not try, you'd probably end up rolling it off the table."

The team chuckled at that, and Pepper continued his explanation, walking over to a smaller, squarer metallic object. "This is a Hyperbike engine. Same output as the Arwing engine. Try to lift it."

Falco smirked. "I got this." He gripped the engine, and lifted, struggling somewhat, as the object came off the table. He set it back down. "Not bad... probably the heaviest thing I've ever tried to lift, but it's not impossible."

Fox smiled and shook his head. "How did I know you were going to make it sound like it was no big deal?"

Pepper nodded. "I will remind you again. Same output as the Arwing engine, nearly half the weight. This makes everything with the Hyperbikes possible. If the engine wasn't this light, or this small, the machines would be unfit for racing. Now, lets go see your bikes."

Fox was stunned. "Bike_s_? As in more than one?"

The General smiled and nodded. "Yes. We built four of them." He gave a coy smile at Peppy. "We figured Peppy wouldn't want to race one himself."

Peppy chuckled. "You got that right."

Pepper nodded. "But, your team could really use a pit chief. Someone to oversee the team on the track, and guide them away from hazards, or hostile racers, or something like that."

Fox smiled evilly at Peppy. "So you don't get out of this mission after all, Peppy!"

Peppy sighed. _Why'd you do this to me, Pepper?_

The group came up on some rather strange looking two-wheeled machines. They were almost two-wheeled Landmaster tanks, without the large front cannon. The front fender was pointed, with two angled headlights right next to each other. Further back, the jagged angles continued. Just behind the front wheel on either side, were blaster mounts. Behind that, a computer console, and a completely flat cushion. On either side of the computer console were rearview mirrors. A smooth transparent canopy was slid forward, part of it hanging over the front wheel. It also appeared to be raised slightly higher than it would be when closed.

Krystal eyed the flat cushion with distaste. "We practically have to lay on our bellies to get into these things."

Slippy noticed the steering assembly. "Yeah, and you have to turn the bike by tilting the wheel sideways. How does that work?"

General Pepper shrugged. "I don't know how it works, Slippy. I simply know that it does." He glanced around, and saw the head of the engineering team. "But perhaps your father can answer your question."

Beltino Toad approached the team, pushing his glasses further up his face. "Good afternoon, Starfox team. Quite amazing machines, yes?"

The team nodded. Slippy was beaming. "Dad? You're working on this, too?"

Beltino laughed. "But of course. I _am_ the head of Cornerian Military Research and Development. Did you have a question, Slippy?"

Slippy nodded. "How does this thing turn? You have to turn the wheel sideways."

Beltino nodded. "You don't have to move the wheel much. The machine is designed to turn when the rider tilts it one way or another. You take the turns by leaning into them. The bike's inertia carries you around the turn, and when you come out of it, you simply right the bike flat on its wheels again. It's a very simple principle. Although, we added our own special touch to make the bike handle even better."

Slippy cocked his head. "What's that?"

Beltino smiled, and patted an angular blue blade near the rear of the vehicle. "A modified G-diffuser. As far as I know, no one else has this technology, and because of how well it worked with the Arwings, we decided to try it on the Hyperbikes. We have yet to see how much good it really does outside of simulations. We're hoping you and your team will be able to test them on a real track."

There was something about these machines that was eating at Fox as well. "How can something that touches the ground move so fast? The wheels generate friction still."

Beltino smiled and shook his head. "Not these wheels. They are rubber mostly, but they are equipped with a friction reducing surface that activates when the bike gets up to speed. You need friction for the bike to accelerate, but once it's moving, and the plasma engine takes over, the wheels do nothing more than guide the bike."

"But how is turning possible, if the tires don't grip the track?" Slippy was trying not to be completely confused.

Beltino was still quick to answer. "The friction reducing material is only on the flat center line of the tire. The sides, which would be the part that comes into contact with the track when turning, is only grip, so the machine can take corners."

Fox suspected that Beltino had torn apart one of the original machines himself to reverse engineer everything. He seemed to know an incredible amount about them. Fox inspected the rest of the bike, and discovered that, among the myriad of logos and emblems that covered the vehicle, his name was present as well. He touched it, somewhat surprised to see that this was, in fact, his machine.

Beltino chuckled as he saw Fox absorbed in the fact that his name was emblazoned on the machine. "I see Fox has discovered that this is his bike!" Fox was still staring at the vehicle, not noticing that anyone had said anything. "Now, if the rest of you will do some looking around, you will all find your machines as well. Peppy, I have something for you." He walked over to a table, with Peppy in tow, as the rest of the team looked for their bikes. Beltino picked up a strange looking device, and strapped it to Peppy's head. A small protrusion went over his ear, and another stuck out to the side of his muzzle. Finally, a small transparent eyepiece hovered centimeters from his left eye. The other half of the strange apparatus was a flat pad that was glossy black on the front, as if it were a video screen. Suddenly, the unit powered up, as Beltino touched a switch on the side of the panel.

"Okay, Beltino, I give up," Peppy said, trying to comprehend the device's function. "What's this thing do?"

Beltino chuckled. "This, Peppy, is a monitoring device, to keep you in constant contact with your team's Hyperbikes. It has an audio/video transmitting and receiving circuit, which will allow you to see and hear your team members, and vice-versa. Each Hyperbike is equipped with cameras to show a rear view, a forward view, and the riders' face. The pad is the interface. You can switch camera modes, and communication with your team, while they're racing. I would advise you to study track layouts when the race season starts, so that you have as much information at your disposal as you can get. If something happens on the track, it's your responsibility to tell your team, and knowing where they are on the track in relation to where a hazard is would be invaluable."

Peppy nodded. "Doesn't sound so hard."

Falco eagerly jumped onto his bike. "So when do we get to drive these things, huh? I wanna see what we can do with them!"

All the other team members shook their heads. Pepper finally spoke up. "We have a simulator set up for you to run through basic operations. You will be able to ride them, but not at their full speed, yet. These things will take a lot of getting used to, so you'll be training for some time before we allow you to race, depending on your performance."

Ever the responsible leader, Fox was more concerned with their deadline. "How much time do we have before the season starts?"

"One month," Pepper said simply. "We have already announced the formation of a new team, and registered the team name and sponsor with the XGRA committee. What we don't have registered are the individuals. We'll take care of that when your training ends."

Suddenly a large door on the other side of the hangar hissed open, and several people in bright orange jumpsuits approached the group.

"Who are they?" Fox eyed the newcomers warily.

Beltino groaned. "That's SpaceDynamics' engineering team. They've been trying to take control of the project since day one, but the General wouldn't have it, since most of the funding is still coming from the Cornerian government."

One of the SpaceDynamics guys came up to the team, while the others hung back. The brown lynx approached Beltino, and grinned at him, as Beltino's gaze narrowed. "Are they ready for the simulators?"

"We've finished briefing them" Beltino seemed to be trying to keep his tone neutral. "But it's up to them if they are ready to train or not."

Fox sensed the tension, and extended his paw to the SpaceDynamics engineer. "Fox McCloud, leader of the Starfox team. And you are?"

The lynx took Fox's firmly and shook it a few times. "Aegis Garner, head of SpaceDynamics Research and Development. Glad to finally meet you, mister McCloud."

Fox let a glimmer of a grin cross his muzzle. "As am I. This is my team." He indicated each of them as he said their names. "Slippy Toad, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Krystal."

Aegis shook each of the other team members' paws, with the exception of Krystal. He brought her paw to his muzzle and kissed it gently, bowing slightly to her. Much to her relief, Krystal sensed nothing more than gentlemanly kindness in the gesture. She smiled at him. "A pleasure to meet you all." The lynx stepped back, and took up a more businesslike stance. "If your team is ready, Fox, we would be happy to escort you and your machines to the simulators, and begin running through basic operations."

Fox nodded. "That would be great."

Aegis smiled. "Very well. Follow me, please. Mike, can you have the team take the Hyperbikes to the simulators?"

A rabbit nodded. "Right away, boss." Several members of the SpaceDynamics team began walking the machines to the other side of the hangar, following loosely behind the Starfox team and their escort.

A/N: Sorry this update took so long. I hadn't been on the computer much at all, and then I got StarCraft from the library, so I've been caught up in nostalgia for a few days. It's one of my favorite computer games, so sorry I haven't devoted more of my time to you guys. I know the story is a little slow right now, but it'll get better once the races start. I'll make sure of that! But it's going to be much longer, so the updates won't be as frequent. But thanks to those of you who've been reading so far. One more chapter of boring explanation, and then we'll get into the good stuff, I promise.


	4. Chapter 3 Training

**Chapter 3 – Training**

The Starfox team was greeted by a sea of orange jumpsuits swarming around the various simulator units. Due to the size of a race track, the team would be training, not in a real size holosim, but a pure computer simulation in VR, wearing instruments that would trick their minds and bodies into thinking they were piloting the vehicles, but were in fact not. There were four units, arranged in a square formation, and in the middle of them, a large 2D holoprojector. This would allow the engineering team, and Peppy, the acting pit chief, to observe everything going on in the simulation.

Each of the riders took a position beside a simulator, and waited as an engineer placed their bikes into the units. Each simulator consisted of a platform with a sunken strip in the middle a few inches wider then the Hyperbikes' tires. A few taps of the sim units' consoles, and clamps grabbed the plates covering the tires, and a section of the middle of each bike, locking them in place. The platform would tilt the bike sideways to simulate the vehicle cornering. Right now, the platforms would tilt freely if not for each machine having its kickstand holding it upright. After the bikes had been secured, each rider jumped on their machines. The same personnel that had brought in the bikes now was outfitting the team with their VR gear. They were equipped with an eyepiece, which consisted of a clear visor which projected images directly into the wearer's eyes, and a headpiece which projected soundwaves into the wearer's brain. On top of this, the gear also would stimulate their brains to make their bodies respond to various environmental things. For instance, if their machine collided with something, the simulator would tell their brains that they had collided with something, and their bodies would react accordingly. Theoretically, given the right stimulation, your brain could be tricked into thinking you had had a fatal accident, but of course that risk had been removed from the simulation.

Aegis finally broke the silence, and began briefing the team on their Hyperbikes' basic functions. "Firstly, I'm sure you've all noticed the large, shiny black surface between the grips of your steering mechanism. Those of you who are quicker minded may have even discovered that it is a computer screen."

Suddenly a beeping was heard, and one of the bikes powered up. A female computer voice spoke up from the machine. "Thank you for activating the CSF/SpaceDynamics HB-01 Hyperbike. Welcome, Krystal."

Aegis chuckled as all eyes fixed onto Krystal, who was clearly blushing. "All I did was touch it!" The lynx informed the others of what was going on.

"Your machines are pawprint activated. The computer screens are touch sensitive, and also a paw scanner. The rest of you, touch your screens and power up your bikes."

The room suddenly filled with noise of the power up sequences. One thing that everyone seemed to protest was that the bikes, after a few seconds of silence, raised up a little, the suspension system having been activated.

Aegis assumed a warning tone suddenly. "You all might want to duck down now, since your bikes' canopies are going to close on you in a second."

Each team member frantically hunkered down, hugging the seat, as the glass slid down over them, leaving some open space behind them, but filling their vision with the illusion of being inside a glass tube.

"Your computers should all be on a menu giving you a set of options," Aegis called to the team, knowing he'd need to be a bit louder with the riders nearly sealed in their bikes. "These options will be listed as follows: Race Mode, Simulation Mode, Bike Systems, Messages. Touch Bike Systems now." The team did so, and was flooded by yet another list of options. "You should now be looking at another list, with menus as follows: Weapons, Engines, Shields, Computer, Communications, Bike Configuration. From this menu, you will be able to view the capacities of each system, its functionality, and current hardware information and configurations. Bike Configuration allows you to change technical things about the way your bike operates. Like suspension height, brake sensitivity, etc. Weapons is pretty self explanatory, but I'll say it anyway. It will allow you to view each weapon installed on your machine, and change their settings. Back out of your current directory and check out the weapons menu."

Falco was the first to speak as he found out what they had installed on their machines. "Holy shit! We have Nova Bombs on these things!" The other team members made similar comments as they saw for themselves rotating 3D images of the most potent weapon ever developed in Lylat on their screens.

Aegis nodded. "Yes, you are equipped with Nova Bombs. However, due to limited physical space, each of your bikes can only carry two at a time. You'll also notice the warning on the bottom of your displays."

The team did. A bright red flashing "Warning! Long distance use only! Do not attempt launch at less than 1000 feet."

Aegis felt more explanation was in order. "Since the bombs were developed for space use, we were able to launch them out of straight tubes. With the limitations of gravity to deal with, they now launch in a 45 degree arc. Keep that in mind when targeting something specific, although it would be easier to simply lob one into a pack of racers and not target anything per se. You will also find another familiar face in your arsenal. Your Arwings' twin fire hyper lasers. And, just like in your Arwings, they have the ability to lock on and fire a homing burst of energy. Since your targets are all moving in the same direction as you, you may find simply blasting them with rapid fire shots to be more effective. Your machines also have the same type of blasters equipped on the rear. This will allow you to fire at anyone following too close."

"I have a question!" Slippy called. The team shook their heads, expecting something technical to fall out of his mouth.

Aegis pointed to him. "Yes, Slippy."

"What's a Gattling Cannon?"

The engineer smiled. "That would be a more powerful version of our Gattling Gun, which you all should be familiar with. It has the same limitations, however. It is only effective at close range. It's a good weapon to use when attempting to pass someone. Blast them as you go by. But at a distance, you'll only pick at them. We have also added another weapon that you may not be familiar with. Swarm Missiles. The system allows you to lock onto one target and hit them with up to 8 missiles at a time, or lock onto multiple targets. The missiles individually aren't very powerful, but four of them hitting a target dead on would cause serious damage, and all eight would almost definitely destroy the target. The system also has a secret weapon. If only one target has been selected, it scans the target vehicle's shield strength, and calculates the number of missiles needed to eliminate it. When the missiles are fired, they target, not the rear of the vehicle, but one of its sides, so the impact and resulting explosion throws the target off balance. And if that happens to a two-wheeled machine, you can safely assume that it will not be recovering from the fall. But be aware, if you cause a machine to go out of control instead of destroying it, you're going to have a large chunk of scrap to get out of the way of."

Fox's eyebrows went up. "Wow. Maybe you should be driving one of these things. You know more about them than any of us."

Aegis smiled and shook his head. "I'm too old for that stuff anymore. Now I build the machines. But thanks for the offer."

"Hey!" called Falco impatiently. "Can we like, race now? Or are these things just for sitting on?"

The lynx shrugged. "Okay." He turned to one of his colleges in a booth above and behind him. "Load it up!"

A female golden retriever put on a headset and spoke to the team through the radio link. "Okay Starfox team. My name is Amy, I'll be your pit chief today. I'll help you through the startup sequence for the simulator, and answer any questions you might have. Are we ready to get started?" The team gave various acknowledgements. Suddenly the retriever remembered something. She hit the button on a console, and her voice carried outside into the hangar. "Aegis, can we get their pit chief up here, so I can show him what's going on?"

The lynx nodded, and turned to Peppy. "You're needed up there. Amy will show you how to use that." He pointed to the device Peppy had been given. The hare shrugged, and headed up to the control booth with a sigh.

Amy cut the intercom and went back to the team. "Okay, sorry about that. Now, all of you need to go back in your menu and enter simulation mode. When that happens, your bikes will power down, and we'll go over the startup again, this time in the simulator."

The team followed instructions, with a groan out of Falco. "We just did this! Man, I wanna ride already!"

Amy tried to ignore the impatient avian. Soon the team had their bikes powered up. "You will notice that you display has changed from blue to green. This indicates that you're in simulator mode. Now, go to race, and I'll upload the units with the environment data."

Fox looked around, and at first all he could see was black around him, except for his computer screen. Then, suddenly the environment loaded. He was on the starting grid of a race track. He looked ahead and up a bit, and noticed there was a holobanner floating above the track. "SpaceDynamics Virtual Speedway" it read. Fox rolled his eyes. _Couldn't they think of anything more creative?_

_My thoughts exactly _an accented voice said in his mind.

_K- Krystal? Get out of my head! Leave my brain alone!_

_But your thoughts are so clear! I can't help but hear them. Don't think so loud if you don't want me to hear you!_

_Grr... I hate that you're a telepath sometimes!_

She laughed telepathically. _Sometimes _I _hate that I'm a telepath! I have to tune it out when I go into the city, because there are so many people who direct perverted thoughts at me!_

Fox's eyes widened. _I can't imagine having to deal with that. Why don't you just fry their brains or something?_

She giggled. _Because I'm not mean, silly! They're just thoughts! They're not saying it to my face. Besides, sometimes it's nice to know what people are thinking. It tells a lot about them, you know._

_Yeah... right._

They were both snapped out of their conversation by an impatient sounding female voice. "Ahem? Fox and Krystal, are you two paying attention?"

Fox struggled to say something. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, we're all ears, um... Amy."

"Then explain why you two are the only ones who haven't activated race mode yet?"

Peppy groaned. This was not the first time the two had decided to have a telepathic conversation at the wrong time. He motioned to Amy to cut transmission. She did so.

"What is it, Peppy?"

"Those two... they're, um. Talking to each other. Krystal's telepathic, and they do this tuning out thing a lot. They're just conversing, but to us it looks like they're not engaged in anything. So could you, maybe cut them a little slack if they zone out?"

Amy was still turning over the "Krystal's a telepath" bit in her head. Part of her wished she could secretly talk to people like that. "Yeah. Yeah, sure." She clicked back over to the team's frequency. "Uh, okay Starfox, are we all ready to go?" Fox and Krystal were the first to answer, and the other two acknowledged soon after. "Okay, then."

"Hey! What's this do?" Falco had been eyeing an icon in the corner of his display for some time, and decided to tap it. He wasn't ready for what was going to happen. Tapping the icon disengaged his bike's kickstand, and the machine toppled over, since he hadn't put out his feet to catch himself. "Whoa!" He fell off the machine, as the others looked over at him laying on the ground, both in the real world, and in the simulator. "What the hell! What's the point in putting in a function that makes your bike fall over? That's just stupid!"

The others were laughing at him, and even Amy let out a giggle before regaining herself. "Actually, Falco, that icon disengages your kickstand. It's what holds the bike upright when there's no one on it. I was actually just going to have you all do that when you decided to do it yourself without a warning. So I'll say this to the rest of you, put your legs out so you can hold the bike up when the kickstand retracts."

"Yeah, yeah, kickstand, put out your legs, blah, blah, blah," Falco muttered getting back onto his bike. The rest of the team put out their legs and retracted their kickstands. All but Slippy managed to hold up their bikes easily.

The frog's short legs quivered as he struggled to hold the bike upright standing on his toes. "Um, you guys did a really great job building these things, and not that I'm complaining, but I can hardly touch the ground!" Then he gave up and his bike toppled over. "Aw, flies! This stinks! But strangely, this is the only design flaw I've seen so far."

Aegis was shaking his head. "I don't really know how we can fix this, other than redesigning your bike completely. The engine is only inches under the seat."

Slippy was still sitting on the ground, but seemed unaware of this as he became lost in thought. "I only need a couple more inches. Just enough to get my feet flat on the ground."

The lynx nodded in agreement. "But that doesn't help us now. We still need to go over racing operations, and your team will need to train on these machines rigorously. That includes you."

"Um, sir?" a voice said over the intercom.

Aegis looked up at the control room above him. "Yes?"

The voice continued. "I believe the platforms on the simulators are adjustable. We can raise the platform on Slippy's simulator, but that's only a temporary solution. I don't know how we can deal with the bike."

The lynx's eyes narrowed. "Well, we need to do something about it, Garrett. We can't have Slippy falling on his rear every time he tries to get on the damn thing!"

"I understand that, sir. I'll do what I can after the team trains for a bit. Right now that's more important. I'm going to raise Slippy's platform."

Slippy had just gotten back onto the platform to hold up his bike when the ground under him suddenly jerked. He felt himself rise a bit, and then the platform jerked to a stop. He got back onto the bike, and his feet were planted firmly on the platform. "Yeah. That's better."

Aegis seemed satisfied for the moment. "Alright, then. Amy, you can resume the training session."

Amy nodded. "Okay, team. I've uploaded the course map to your bike computers. As you can see, it's relatively simple. Just an oval. The corners are mildly banked to assist you in cornering, and there are no hazards to speak of, unless one of you decides to start shooting at your teammates. I'm going to put up the starting signal, so you all know when to go. Run a system diagnostic as you would on your Arwings. It's the same system. When all of you are green, I'll start the countdown." Each team member checked their systems and one by one gave the signal that they were all clear. A small holographic display appeared in front of the group that counted from 3 to 1. After the 1, the display turned bright green and read "GO!"

The Starfox team punched their bikes' throttles and shot down the first stretch of track. Each of their displays showed their speed, lap time, total time, weapon charge, shield strength, and their positions on the map. Amy's face also appeared on each of their displays as a small window in the corner.

"Your current HUD images are what you will see in a real race. Anyone who contacts you, be it teammate or opponent, will appear where my face is on your displays. You are approaching the first turn. I don't think any of you are going fast enough to need to, but your airbrake controls are the switches under where your thumbs go on the handle grips. The left and right switches correspond to the respective airbrakes. The key to winning races of course is to take turns as tightly as possible, so I would advise you to try to stay as close as you can to the inside of the turn. Don't try to be a hero and take the turn so close your shield kisses the wall. Stay about a quarter of the track width from it. This turn has a mild bank. About 30 degrees. The second turn is about 50, so staying close to the inside isn't as necessary. There are tracks in the league that bank a full 90 degrees. The bike's momentum is the only thing keeping you upright in those situations, so it's wise to take those turns at the highest speed possible."

The team came around the first turn without incident. "I hate to feel cocky, but that was too easy," Fox said smirking. "I hope there's more to this than taking turns."

"Even a simple turn could wind up being a bad day if someone decides to wipe you out, Fox. Those turns are hunting grounds for track predators." Amy's voice carried a hint of warning.

Fox chuckled. "Track predators, huh? How do you know all this stuff?"

Amy smiled. "I watch the races. It's why I was picked to train your team, because I have made detailed observations of what goes on out there. Some people choose to just race, but everyone's out there to win, and if you get in their way, they won't hold back removing you from a race."

Fox frowned. "This doesn't sound like racing to me. It sounds like war."

Amy shrugged. "That's how they treat it. You'd benefit if you treated it like any other mission Pepper gives you."

Fox was starting to object. "But this is different. Those missions send us into hostile territory with people trying to kill us."

Amy's next comment made the Starfox team's blood chill. "What did you think you were getting into? When you're out there, people _will_ try to kill you. It's just that it's legal when you're racing."

"How can they allow that?" Krystal protested.

"The same way everything else bad in the galaxy happens. You sign a waiver," Fox answered, chuckling slightly at the simplicity of signing your life away.

"We never signed any waiver!" Slippy whined. "Fox, no one said our lives would be in as much danger as on a mission in hostile territory! We might as well go pick a fight with Star Wolf and ask Pepper to pay us if we come out alive!"

Amy coughed to get the team's attention. "Boys! It's not as bad as you think. It's dangerous, but not that bad. The chances of you actually dying are pretty minimal, since you will be equipped with life support systems that are designed to preserve your life in the event of a crash, or the destruction of your vehicle."

Slippy was still not satisfied. "Unless that means you put a secondary shield around us capable of holding up against the detonation of a plasma engine, I don't think it qualifies as life support."

"Yeah, no crap!" Falco finally spoke up. "I mean, fighting for the freedom of the Lylat system, that's one thing. But dying in a race to earn some money doesn't sound like my idea of fun."

Amy was shaking her head. "Look, it's not that bad. Once you all become professionals with your machines, as you have with the Arwings, you won't see the risk as anything but more of a challenge. You all went out against the best of Andross's forces mere weeks after you first set eyes on an Arwing. This is nothing compared to that. After you've trained, you'll all feel different about it. Trust me. Just train. You all have completed one lap. Feel free to experiment. This is a simulation, so nothing will happen to you if you mess up. This is the time to make mistakes, and learn from them. Challenge each other, just as you did during the War. You guys are the best we have. None of those XGRA hotshots can claim to have taken down fleets of the toughest ships in the galaxy. This is a cakewalk. I'm going to go for a bit, so continue training."

Fox sighed. "Understood."

Amy pulled off her headset and backed away from the console. She tossed the datapad she was holding onto it, and ran her paws through her hair, letting out a deep sigh.

"How are they doing?" General Pepper appeared from the door behind her.

Amy glanced at him. "Well, sir, their training is going better than expected. They all have an excellent grasp of the machines, and they seem to be operating them as well as they do any other vehicle. But they're having doubts about the seriousness of the mission. I think they've forgotten that it's a mission, not a recreational activity. They were expecting something like a typical race, where the only risks involved are speed related."

The General nodded. "That's partly my fault. I made it sound that way, though I honestly thought they would all treat it the way they usually do. They are professionals. I thought they would have viewed it as if they were going into potentially dangerous territory, as they have been in the past. They'll get over it, though. Once they've gotten the hang of the Hyperbikes, they'll treat it as they would any other mission. I give them missions that are too risky for the defense force, and they know that. They know that I recognize their skills, and because of my faith in them, I give them missions I know are delicate or especially dangerous. And judging by the report you wrote about the XGRA races, this definitely qualifies."

"I just hope they don't decide to change their minds, sir." Amy tried to keep the worry out of her voice.

"Oh, what are you worried about, Major? SpaceDynamics is the one to worry about Starfox dropping out. They're the ones who need the money."

"I understand that, General. But the team needs money, too. I'm more concerned about them. They're good people, just trying to make a living. Since the Aparoid conflict, they've been without work. I've read up on all of their files. The team ran into serious debt getting the Great Fox rebuilt. They need this."

Pepper nodded again. "Well, let's see how they feel in a week. After they feel comfortable training, and feel confident in their abilities with the Hyperbikes, we'll see if they still want to drop out. But Fox isn't a quitter. That young man doesn't know the first thing about quitting, even in the face of overwhelming odds. That's why he's a Lylat War hero."

Amy sighed. "I hope you're right, sir."

"I'd bet my life on it, Major."

**A/N: Sorry this update took so long. I hope it was worth the wait. I know it's still a bit slow. But I'm planning for this story to be a long one. Just a side note, by the way, I recently played through Starfox Assault, and I found out that Great Fox was destroyed at the end of the game. I didn't remember this when I started writing this. Was anyone confused as to why the ship is still around? Should I write in a side story to clarify? Because I simply hadn't thought about it until now. Just wondering...**

**Also, Silver Meta Dragon – no, I don't know what the aegis is. Perhaps you can educate me? I know it's the name of the allied anti-aircraft naval unit in Red Alert 2, which is where I heard the name, but somehow I don't think that what you were getting at. Glad you are all enjoying the story.**


	5. Chapter 4 Not a Game

**Disclaimer- I don't own Star Fox, or XGRA. They belong to Nintendo and Acclaim.**

**Chapter 4 – Not a game**

One week later…

"Damn it, Falco, get back in formation!" Fox was frustrated yet again by his teammate's unwillingness to follow instructions.

"I'm cutting ahead! There's an opening, I can see it! If I can just squeeze past this guy…"

"Falco, you're going to get us all killed! You're cutting into that turn way too far! Fall back! That's an order!"

"Damn it Fox, just trust me! I can make it!"

Fox shook his head as he watched the avian slip dangerously close between the bike ahead of the rest of the team, and the wall. Falco wasn't listening. Fox switched Falco's comm circuit off, and gave instructions to the others.

"Okay, guys. Falco's not listening to me, so we're going to just let him go, and get out of the way. Fall back to the outside of the turn. If he crashes, he's going to take the rest of us out with him."

"Wise move, Fox," Peppy said from the control room. "That wouldn't have been the first time Falco's recklessness has gotten us into trouble."

Falco poured on the speed at the last second to pass his opponent, and slipped out in front of him. "Yeah! I freaking told you I could do it, Fox! The race is mine!" Distracted by his supposed victory, Falco failed to see another bike approaching him from the right front, dropping speed to match with him. Suddenly, the bike he'd passed latched onto him with some kind of magnetic restraining beam, and the machine that had been in front slammed into the side of Falco's bike, knocking him off balance into the wall. For a split second, his bike no longer touched the ground, which was long enough for Falco to lose all stability. The machine promptly fell onto its side, slid to the outside of the track, and exploded upon impact with the opposite wall. Falco's display went dead, and his bike computer told him that he had crashed, and that his emergency life support system had been activated. The other team members had to swerve out of his way rather suddenly to avoid running him over.

Fox glanced at his rearview mirror for a second, watching Falco's wreck, shaking his head. "Damn it…" he muttered. "Amy, kill the simulation." The sim shut down, and the team powered off their bikes, pulled off their gear, and hopped off their machines as the platforms lowered to the ground, the locking clamps engaging.

Fox immediately stormed over to Falco's bike. "What the hell was the deal with that, Falco? I told you to fall back!"

Falco towered over Fox as he ripped off his sim gear and tossed it aside. "Look, I would have made it if that jackass hadn't cheated!"

"That wasn't cheating, that kind of stuff is legal in the race! You have to be prepared for anything out there, because you can't just throw a fit when your enemy fights dirty!"

"It was the last lap! We would have lost if I hadn't taken the chance!"

"Yeah, and if what just happened now had happened in the real race, we would be minus one pilot, one bike, _and _lost the race. Not placing first in a race is acceptable; loosing a machine and rider isn't. I'm in charge here, and I make the calls on the track. If you disobey my orders again, I'll have you pulled from this mission, is that clear?"

"Oh, screw you, Fox, you sound like Pepper for fuck's sake! It's a simulation, and we have a month to perfect our act here. This is where we're supposed to make mistakes!"

"Mistakes are fine, Falco, but we're just going to keep making the same ones over and over unless you follow the team dynamic. We stay in formation until we decide to attack as a group. That's how it worked during the War, and that's how it's going to work now. If you can't handle that, then you're not racing. I'm not putting the rest of us at risk because you couldn't restrain you goddamn pride!"

Falco glared at Fox for a moment, then stormed off out of the hangar muttering. Fox was fuming.

In the control room, Peppy shook his head. "Those two are going to be the death of us all. Neither of them can control their temper. Sometimes I'm amazed that either of them is still alive."

Amy glanced at him. "They may have hot tempers, but they're good pilots, when they can work together."

Peppy snorted. "Yeah, that's kind of the key that they don't seem to understand."

Slippy looked up at the control room. "Hey Peppy, I think we need a break here! We've been training for almost ten hours now."

Peppy pushed the intercom button. "Yeah, not a bad idea, Slip. Everyone get some rest, we'll come back to this tomorrow when our nerves aren't frayed anymore." He stifled a yawn as he finished the sentence. _I think all of us could use a break _he thought.

The trees surrounded him. The birds sang, the sun shined. Fox found himself slipping out of the twisted reality he'd been stuck in, and made no effort to stop it. He breathed in deeply, smelling all sorts of things that many people missed here in this little park. A park his family had once visited all the time.

When they had still been a family.

Fox felt his head tilt toward the sky, and then he felt himself speaking.

"What would you have done, dad?" he asked the clouds. "Would you have taken this job? There's no glory or honor in this racing league. No ones freedom is at stake, yet the people who take part risk their lives. I think you would have thought the idea completely ridiculous. You would have rather gone broke than take a job like this. And if you hadn't had a choice, you would have rather gone it alone than risk the lives of your teammates. Your friends." He thought about Krystal. "Your lover…" he whispered. He closed his eyes, and tried to picture a scenario of Krystal getting hurt, or even killed in a race. A tear fell from his eyes. No. He couldn't let that happen. He heard a sound behind him. His ears pointed backward tracking it.

Krystal approached him. "Fox? Are you okay?" She lightly touched his shoulder. He instantly relaxed under her touch. Seeing his reaction, she put her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder. She gently licked his muzzle. "Love?" she almost whispered. "Will you tell me what's bothering you?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Please?" she added.

Fox sighed, looking back up at the sky. "Everything about this mission suddenly seems wrong, Krys. When Pepper first told us about it, it didn't sound so bad. During the War, the team and I, we knew how Andross's forces fought. We knew how they reacted, and we knew what they were capable of. These XGRA lunatics… not a clue. And the sport is from Earth. The league is primarily human. And not Lylat humans, that have lived among the rest of us, and learned to respect us. Terrans. Ruthless, selfish… and dangerous."

Krystal had never encountered a human before. "I've never met a human. What are they like. I mean, the ones here?"

Fox shrugged. "Dunno, but they don't cause any trouble. Not many live in Corneria City, though. They live in a city called um… Halcyon or something like that. On the other side of the planet. They named it that after they came here from some Earth colony somewhere to make peaceful contact with us for the first time. Showing our good faith, we gave them their own little continent, and they settled there. Some people think humans created us. I don't believe it."

"Why do people think that?" Krystal asked, frowning.

"Because many of us bear a resemblance to creatures they brought here as pets. We also speak the same language. We always have, since they came here. When they spoke the same way we did when they first made contact with us, no one could believe that these unknown people could communicate with us like that."

Krystal's eyebrows went up. "Maybe they did create us then. People who came from so far away, yet speak the same exact language must have been here before, at least. And the fact that we look like their pets… maybe they wanted their pets to walk and talk with them, and that's where we came from."

Fox growled. "I refuse to think of those people as… gods."

Krystal rolled her eyes. "They're not gods, Fox. Just… lonely. They wanted some friends, so they made the friends they already had able to communicate with them on a more intelligent level. Maybe you should give them some credit. If they did create us, they did a really good job! I want to meet one. What do they look like?"

Fox turned and started at her in surprise. "You want to _meet_ one? Why?"

Krystal smiled coyly. "Because your opinion is biased, love. I want to see for myself what it is we're dealing with. If I can sense something about them, it will help me determine if they're a friendly people overall, or if they're something to be avoided."

Fox turned back away from her. "Yeah well, you'll get your chance soon enough. The XGRA hasn't built any tracks here yet, so we have to go to Earth for the invitational." Fox shuddered. "I am not looking forward to that. Earth is their homeworld. They're everywhere. All 9 and a half billion of them crammed into a dozen supercities around the planet. At least the place is clean. Even with all those people they somehow manage to keep their resources intact."

Krystal grinned. "Sounds like fun. Hey! Let's take a little trip to Halcyon for a few days!"

Fox's ears flattened against his head. He slowly turned to face her. "You've _got_ to be shitting me. Please Krys, tell me you're just tugging my tail."

Krystal just kept grinning.

Fox wiped his face with a paw. "Oh god, help me…"

"You wanna go _where?_" Falco rose halfway out of his chair.

Krystal stared at him. "I think you heard me." She looked at the others. "I want to go to the human city. I want to see what they're like. It'll help me to understand who were dealing with in the XGRA."

Peppy shook his head. "The humans that live in Halcyon are probably not a good example of the Terrans; they get along with us."

Krystal didn't understand. "But we're part of a galactic alliance, and Earth is part of that too, right?"

Fox nodded. "Yeah, but they still don't like us very much. They think we're barbaric. Primitive."

Krystal gave him a confused look. "What about us do they think is barbaric?"

Fox smirked and shook his head. "I got into an argument with a human over how evolved a society we were. He gave me this weird look and said, 'your females still go into heat cycles. You call that evolved?' The conversation pretty much ended at that point."

"Personally, I think females going into heat is a good thing," Falco's voice came across the room.

Krystal rolled her eyes. "Well, no one asked you. But we're not limited to those times of the year to mate, or anything. If we were, maybe I could understand them thinking that was primitive. What, don't human females go into heat?"

Fox chuckled. "Um, no they don't."

Krystal shrugged. "Their loss. I rather like it."

Peppy was getting irritated with how the conversation was going. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Yeah, I think I'm done with this conversation," Fox said, still looking at Krystal in disbelief. "I still don't know why you want to go to Halcyon, but fine. If you think you'll gain any insight. And anywhere has got to be more relaxing than that training hangar." He glanced at the others present. "Any serious objections?"

Peppy shook his head. "I think it's a good idea. Anything to help take our minds off this training will help."

Fox turned to Falco, who simply shrugged. "Hey, no complaint here. I want to get as far away from those sims as I can for a while, I don't care where we go to do it."

Slippy was the only person who didn't seem interested in the trip. "I actually think I could study the Hyperbikes up close to help us in our training. If you don't mind, Fox, I'd like to stay behind and maybe figure them out a little better. My dad might offer some insight, as well."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "You sure you don't need a break, Slip?"

Slippy chuckled. "You know me, Fox. When there's technology involved, 'break' isn't in my vocabulary. I'll be fine. Hopefully I'll know something valuable when you guys come back."

Fox shrugged. "Alright. Your call, Slip. I'm gonna go tell Pepper we're taking a vacation." He got up from the conference table, which was also their dining table - he had to remember to set up a conference _room_, an idea that for some reason had eluded him during the reconstruction of _Great Fox_ – and proceeded to the communications panel across the room.

As Fox informed the General of their plans, Krystal's thoughts drifted to imagining what Halcyon would be like. She had no idea what to expect, since she'd never encountered a human before. She really knew nothing about them, and that was why she felt the need to go to a human city. Simply by observing the city's layout, she could gather much information about humans in general. For instance, how much or how little plant life was in the city would say a lot about how humans viewed themselves in line with nature. Did they respect it? Did they feel close to it? Corneria's cities had parks and trees and fields and forests everywhere, because Cornerians felt very close to nature, being of more… primal descent. Did humans view nature the same way? Whether they did or not might say something about their attitude toward those who did. Like her kind.

_Oh well, _she thought. Those questions would be answered soon enough.

**A/N – Sorry about taking so bloody long with my update here… life has been eventful, and I've been working a lot. Not to mention I more or less lost interest in writing the story, as I sometimes do. One interesting thing that happened in the course of writing this chapter: coming up with the name for the human city. At the time, I had only heard the word Halcyon. I didn't know what it actually meant. It just sounded cool. And it reminded me of peace, which was something I wanted between the Cornerians and any non-anthropomorphic creatures that might also be inhabiting the planet. So I put in the name, and right after I wrote that section, I looked up what the word meant, and found out that I was not too far from the truth thinking it had to do with peace. I forget what the textbook definition was, but I found out I was pretty much right. Kind of interesting. I know there's no mention of humans in Lylat in the games, but I have always thought that, since the creatures of Lylat are evolved versions of Earth creatures, humans may have had something to do with their evolution, and if that were the case, there would probably still be some scattered around the system. So there you go. I'll try to be more diligent about my updates, but no promises. I'll get them written and posted eventually, but please be patient. Thanks to all of you who are reading! Your support means a lot to me. Until next time!**


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